Hydrological Fracturing (Hansard, 29 November 2001)

§ Mr. Wilson

My Department, as part of its Cleaner Coal Technology Programme, has funded a number of projects that included work on hydrological fracturing, although it has not commissioned specific R&D on this subject.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has funded research into hydrogeology, including the hydrological fracturing of rock and other media. NERC's British Geological Survey (BGS) has undertaken work reviewing the use of the technology of fracturing in Coal Bed Methane production. A list of the NERC research portfolio, including grants funded through NERC's Micro to Macro programme, is listed below on Annexe 1.

Annexe 1

Hydrological Fracturing: Grants funded by NERC 1997–98 to date Non-thematic grants

ROPA Seismic imaging of subseismic natural fracture systems (1996–98, British Geological Survey)
Basement structural controls on fault architectures, accommodation zones and sedimentation in rift systems (1996–2000, Royal Holloway)
Fracture characterisation of deep repository sites (1998–99, Imperial College)
Self-organisation of fluid flow, chemical reactivity and rock strength in porous reservoir rocks (1999–2001, Edinburgh University)
The hydraulic properties of rock fractures under normal and shear loading (1996–97, Imperial College)
Submarine rifting laboratory studies of tensile and extensional fracture in mor rocks, leading to numerical models of tectonic and hydrothermal process (1995–97, University College, London)
Localised flow in fractured rock masses: mechanisms, modelling and characterisation (1999–2002, Imperial College)
Modelling porosity development and flow in heterogeneous media (1999–2001, British Geological Survey)
Scaling of fluid behaviour associated with flow through complex geological structures (1999–2001, Leeds University)
Fully determined fluid velocity fields for complex 2D media with multi-scaled heterogeneity (2000–03, University of Ulster)
Fracture induced anisotropic seismic attenuation (2001–03, Imperial College)
Characterisation of the unsaturated hydraulic properties of the Sherwood Sandstone using combined cross-borehole radar and resistivity tomography (1998–2000, Lancaster University)
The significance of saline fluids in high-temperature deep-crustal metamorphism (1999–2002, Edinburgh University)
Vadose zone flow mechanisms in hydraulically layered aquifers using time domain reflectometry (2000–02, Leeds University)
Molecular modelling of clay-fluid interactions under sedimentary basin conditions: the structure and mobility of water and light hydrocarbons (1999–2002, University College London)
Exceptional porosity in oil-bearing sandstones (2000–02, Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre)

1044W

Thematic grants—Micro to Macro programme

Analysis of reaction and flow in stochastically heterogeneous porous media (1999–2001, Cambridge University)
New micro-geochemical traces of fluid and solute transport in sedimentary basins (1999–1999, Edinburgh University)
Scaling properties of fluid flow in fractured rocks (1999–2002, University College London)
Controls of matrix and fracture flow from geochemical analysis of produced oil (2000–02, Reading University)
Localised flow in fractured rock masses mechanisms, modelling and characterisation (1999–2002, Southampton University/ Imperial College)
Determination of hydraulic properties of distributed fractures using seismic techniques (1999–2002, Cambridge University/ British Geological Survey)
Modelling porosity development and flow on heterogeneous media (1999–2001, British Geological Survey)
Scaling of fluid behaviour associated with flow through complex geological structures (1999–2001, Leeds University)
Quantifying the effects of biofilm growth on hydraulic properties and on sorption equilibria: micro to macro measurements (2000–02, Manchester University)
Multi-scale fluid-flow path analysis: calibration and modelling using mineralisation systems (2000–02, Imperial College)
Cementation of oilfield sandstones: micro-geochemical tracers, reveal macro-fluid hydrogeology (2000–02, Edinburgh University)
Fully determined fluid velocity fields for complex 2D media with multi-scaled heterogeneity (2000–02, Ulster University)
The scaling behaviour of fluid rock flow in rock fractures (2000–02, Aberdeen University)
Novel flow and transport models for systems exhibiting non-integer flow dimensions (2000–02, University College London)
Determination of hydraulic properties of distributed fractures using seismic techniques (1999–2002, British Geological Survey/Cambridge University)
Modelling porosity development and flow in heterogeneous media (1999–2001, University College London)
Multi-scale fluid-flow path analysis calibration and modelling using mineralisation systems (2000–02, Leeds University)
Quantifying the scaling of physical transport in structured heterogeneous porous media (2001–04, Birmingham University)

Thematic grants—Ocean Drilling Programme

High resolution fluid flow patterns at the Nankai convergent plate margin (2001–04, University of Wales, Aberystwyth)

Grants relating to coal measures and methane

Hydrogeology of flooded, abandoned mine workings—an integrated hydraulic/hydrogeochemical analysis (2000–2000, Newcastle-upon-Tyne University)
Urban regeneration of coalfields: generic studies of contaminated land and groundwater issues exemplified in Wolverhampton (1998–2002, Sheffield University/British Geological Survey).